Isotopic response, Köbner phenomenon and Renbök phenomenon following herpes zoster.

Linear skin diseases may follow Blaschko's lines, Langer's relaxed skin tension lines or head zones (dermatomes), thus indicating an embryogenic, hematogenic or neuronal aspect in their pathogenesis. Köbner phenomenon describes the eruption of an inflammatory skin disease following mechanical alteration of the skin. Renbök phenomenon describes an area of non-involvement in an otherwise generalized skin disease.

MEIS1 and BTBD9: genetic association with restless leg syndrome in end stage renal disease.

Background: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sleep related movement disorder that occurs both in an idiopathic form and in symptomatic varieties. RLS is a frequent and distressing comorbidity in end stage renal disease (ESRD). For idiopathic RLS (iRLS), genetic risk factors have been identified, but their role in RLS in ESRD has not been investigated yet.

Pseudohypocalcemia caused by perchlorate (Irenat).

Background: Blood gas analysis (BGA), including measurement of ionized calcium, is performed routinely in patients with end stage renal disease on renal replacement therapy, especially when using citrate for regional anticoagulation. After installation of a new blood gas analyzer (RAPIDpoint 405; BGA), we observed lower ionized calcium concentrations in a few patients without signs of hypocalcemia, whereas calcium concentrations were normal using a standard laboratory method. Pseudohypocalcemia was of limited duration and correlated with the short-term intake of sodium perchlorate monohydrate (Irenat).

Comprehensive MR evaluation of renal disease: added clinical value of quantified renal perfusion values over single MR angiography.

Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of quantified renal perfusion parameters in identifying and differentiating renovascular from renal parenchymal disease.

Materials And Methods: In all, 27 patients underwent renal perfusion measurements on a 3.0 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system.

Long-term creatine supplementation is safe in aged patients with Parkinson disease.

The food supplement creatine (Cr) is widely used by athletes as a natural ergogenic compound. It has also been increasingly tested in neurodegenerative diseases as a potential neuroprotective agent. Weight gain is the most common side effect of Cr, but sporadic reports about the impairment of renal function cause the most concerns with regard to its long-term use.

PR3-ANCA-positive necrotizing multi-organ vasculitis following cocaine abuse.

A 22-year-old man with a history of cocaine abuse from 2003 to 2005 developed recurrent bleeding of the nasal septum and a progressive cough and dyspnoea. He was admitted to the intensive care unit because of fulminant pneumonia, impaired renal function and progressive general deterioration. While hospitalized, he developed cutaneous vasculitis, thrombosis of the right subclavian and right jugular veins, testicular pain and, eventually, expanding red papules and plaques on the limbs.

Soluble NKG2D ligands in hepatic autoimmune diseases and in benign diseases involved in marker metabolism.

Background: Proteolytic shedding of the immunostimulatory NKG2D ligands MICA and MICB from cancer cells constitutes a novel immune escape strategy that diminishes antitumor reactivity by NKG2D-bearing cytotoxic lymphocytes. In consequence, serum levels of soluble MICA and MICB are frequently found to be elevated in cancer disease.

Patients And Methods: As the diagnostic potential depends strongly on the organ-specific benign diseases and is affected by diseases involved in marker metabolism, both markers were analyzed by ELISA in sera of 141 patients with hepatic autoimmune diseases (34 autoimmune hepatitis, 35 primary sclerosing cholangitis, 72 primary biliary cirrhosis), 18 patients with acute bacterial infections, 21 patients with renal insufficiency, 13 patients with cholestasis and 62 healthy individuals.

Nucleosomal DNA fragments in autoimmune diseases.

The inadequate response of immune cells to circulating apoptotic products, such as nucleosomal DNA fragments, is assumed to be a potent stimulus for the production of autoantibodies during the pathogenesis and progression of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Here, we analyzed the levels of circulating nucleosomes, caspases, and C-reactive protein in sera of 244 individuals with various autoimmune diseases (155 with autoimmune hepatic disorders, 25 with ANCA-associated vasculitis, and 64 with various connective tissue diseases), and 32 healthy controls. Nucleosomes and caspase activities were significantly elevated in sera of patients with hepatic autoimmune diseases, connective tissue diseases, and particularly in ANCA-associated vasculitis when compared with healthy individuals.

Renal artery stenosis: functional assessment with dynamic MR perfusion measurements--feasibility study.

Purpose: To prospectively assess feasibility of renal magnetic resonance (MR) perfusion measurement method based on turbo fast low-angle shot sequences for grading effect of renal artery stenosis (RAS) on parenchymal perfusion.

Materials And Methods: Institutional review board approved this study, and patients gave written consent. Seventy-three patients (34 male, 39 female; age range, 17-84 years) who were clinically suspected of having RAS underwent contrast material-enhanced (gadodiamide) saturation-recovery turbo fast low-angle shot imaging for measurement of renal perfusion and high-spatial-resolution MR angiography for RAS detection and grading.

Plasmapheresis in C4d-positive acute humoral rejection following kidney transplantation: a review of 4 cases.

Acute and chronic rejection after kidney transplantation has long been exclusively attributed to cellular and vascular mechanisms. Modern immunosuppressive therapy, therefore, addresses the cellular immune system. Rising experiences in kidney transplantation in the last few decades have revealed that some types of rejection are refractory to the conventional immunosuppressive treatment.

Comparison of the new polyethersulfone high-flux membrane DIAPES HF800 with conventional high-flux membranes during on-line haemodiafiltration.

Background: Current modalities of renal replacement therapy allow only a limited removal of larger, possibly toxic molecules, which accumulate in uraemia. Recently, a haemodiafilter has been made available with the new, high-flux, polyethersulfone-based membrane DIAPES HF800. We performed a study to compare DIAPES HF800 with two conventional high-flux membranes in on-line haemodiafiltration (HDF), with respect to the removal properties for the two marker proteins, beta(2)-microglobulin (beta(2)m, 11.

Long-term course of restless legs syndrome in dialysis patients after kidney transplantation.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common cause of sleep disturbance and is frequently experienced by hemodialysis patients. Factors triggering the disease in uremia have not yet been identified. To our knowledge, the course of RLS symptoms after kidney transplantation has not been investigated systematically.

A comparison of on-line hemodiafiltration and high-flux hemodialysis: a prospective clinical study.

Some of the morbidity associated with chronic hemodialysis is thought to result from retention of large molecular weight solutes that are poorly removed by diffusion in conventional hemodialysis. Hemodiafiltration combines convective and diffusive solute removal in a single therapy. The hypothesis that hemodiafiltration provides better solute removal than high-flux hemodialysis was tested in a prospective, randomized clinical trial.